Build-a-burger

It is nursing school graduation week!  I have never felt more relieved in my life.  I feel like the next couple months are going to be fulll to the max of celebrations. Graduation parties, memorial day, birthday parties, and just your average nice weather picnics.  What comes along with celebrations?? Food, food, beer, food, margaritas, and more food.  Picnic food is always the best/worst.  Worst because its mostly carbs.  Buns for the hot dogs/burgers, fruit salad, potato salad, pasta salad ( you know, every kind of salad, EXCEPT just a veggie salad), deserts, and so on.  I decided to dedicate the next few posts to "paleo party" recipe ideas.

The only purpose a hamburger bun has is to be able to eat with your hands.  Well, ditch the bun and eat with a friggin fork and knife.  Other than holding the burger together the only thing it will add is lb's to your problem areas.  Maybe the bun makes us feel a little more satisfied after eating a burger, because at the usual picnic most of the time the only toppings available are ketchup, lettuce, and tomato.  So why not make a "burger bar" at your next picnic!  Find tons of yummy toppings to give your guests more options for their burgers, leaving them satisfied even without a bun! Lettuce, tomato, onions, salsa ( check out my last post for mango salsa recipe), sauteed mushrooms, avacado, spinach, pesto ( I have a Kale Pesto recipe posted also), sweet potato chips ( yum I just thought of this right now, will have to make these next time), or anything else you can think of!  Maybe have a package of buns available for your non-paleo friends who may think the only thing more evil then Bin Laden is a burger without a bun.

I didn't have myself a little picnic tonight, but I made turkey burgers from the new recipe book i purchased and had a friend over for dinner, so I made a mini " build-a-burger" station in my kitchen.

Turkey Burgers:
- 1 lb ground turkey breast
-1 egg
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 a small shallot, minced
- 1/2 clove garlic minced ( i know this sounds silly, but it was a HUGE garlic clove-- but for garlic lovers add as much as you'd like)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- pinch celtic sea salt

My toppings:
- one avacado-cut into chunks
- 1 tomato sliced
- lettuce
- one package of white mushrooms- sauteed with a couple tbs olive oil and 2 tbsp of red wine- you can leave the wine out if you want.

1.  Preheat oven to broil
2. combine turkey, egg, shallot, garlic, oregano, olive oil, and salt.  Mix well and shape into patties- this made 5 burgers.

3. place on sprayed cookie sheet and put in oven and broil for 4-5 mins on each side.-- You could also grill these if you wanted .
4. set up your burger bar, simple as that! 

Enjoy!
~Nicki "Clean Eats" Peet ~

Tilapia Tango's ( Tilapia "Taco's" w/ Mango Salsa)

I have not forgotten about Clean Eats!  It was just temporarily put on the back burner.  I finished up with finals last tuesday and left wednesday for a mini vaca to california to visit my brother.  I'm still trying to get my body back to normal between the time difference, 24 oz beers @ country concerts, and over indulgent meals.  The only exercise I really got in besides a mini hike was walking to my towel on the sand, where I layed for hours on end.  I never thought my favorite thing to do would be laying still on a beach for hours with nothing but my ipod and some trashy magazines.

On mother's day I was at Barnes & Noble trying to pick out a very last minute gift for my mother.  I didn't find anything for her there, I did purchase a new book, which will greatly benefit my blog.  "The Paleo Diet Cookbook"- by Loren Cordain.  While this cookbook is pretty simple, lacking any pictures at all for any of the recipes, it is full of great recipes and ideas for those who, like myself, who get sick and tired of eating the same old thing. 



Myself and my new cookbook- please ignore my post-workout look



Anywho, i'm not a fan of fish ,I know i've probably mentioned this a million times.  I want to like it so badly so I have more options.  I actually like sushi much better than cooked fish, maybe its the rice, soy sauce, and saki that usually go along with it.  I am well aware of the nutritional benefits of fish so i'm trying to find ways that I actually enjoy eating it, instead of trying to force down that wierd textured meat.  I found this recipe for Tilapia "Tacos" and Peach Salsa( which I changed to Mango, when I couldn't find a peach anywhere in Whole Foods) in my new book!  I really liked this recipe, the cilantro and sweetness from the salsa really complimented the Tilapia well. 

"Ok Nicki, stop talking about yourself and just show us the stinkin recipe"

You will need:
4-6oz Tilapia Filets
Cayenne Pepper to taste
2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 red bell pepper chopped( I left this out, peppers haven't been treatin me well lately)
2 scallions diced
2 garlic cloves- left this out also, the garlic/onion/pepper family is no good for those with tummy troubles.-- for those who have bellys of steal--go for the extra flavor.  At least those less fortunate will have better breath.
2 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
whole Romaine lettuce leaves
1 avacado- chopped
1/4 of a lemon



These guys will be your taco shells

1.squeeze lemon over Tilapia filets and season with cayenne pepper and pinch of sea salt-- set aside for now
2. heat oil in skillet over medium flame.  Add scallions ( and peppers if you are adding them) and saute for 3 minutes.
3. Add garlic if you are using it and cook for another minute or two.
4. move veggies to side of pan to make room for fish.  Add Fish and cook for four minutes- turning after two minutes. ( or until cooked all the way through-- will fall apart easily when cooked through)
5. remove fish and run fork through it--should fall apart very easily into tiny pieces.
6. scoop into whole lettuce leaves to form a taco
7. sprinkle with cilantro- there is also cilantro in the salsa, so if you aren't a big fan leave the extra cilantro out.
8. Add Avacado and Mango Salsa for taste.

Mango Salsa

Roughly 1 cup chopped Mango- I bought the pre-cut mango from whole foods.

1 tbs fresh squeezed lime juice

2 tbs red diced onion- add more if you like

1 tbs minced fresh cilantro

5 chopped cherry tomatoes

2 tsp Hot sauce

Enjoy!

~Nicki "Clean Eats" Peet

Skinny-Girl (or guy) Coconut Shrimps

First of all, hopefully I don't get sued by "real housewife" Bethenny Frankel for using her product name "skinny girl" in my blog title.  You never know these days. Moving on,  "Skinny girl coconut shrimp? Sounds more like fat girl coconut shrimp to me!"  Yes, I am creating voices in my blog from imaginary people.  So in response to that imaginary voice, Fat doesn't make you fat!  Good fats actually help control you're weight, not to mention you need them for energy.  Here's an article from Marks Daily Apple on fat http://www.marksdailyapple.com/sara-says-eat-fat/

I went to a naturopathic doctor in milford on friday for acupuncture on my troublesome shoulder.  To my surprise the first thing she asked me about was my diet.  She is the first doctor that has ever told me to increase my "good fat" intake because it helps to decrease inflammation.  I did already know this information because I have heard our crossfit trainers mention this numerous times, but I have never heard increase your fat out of the mouth of a doctor.  Instant respect for this doctor from me. 
Good fats: eggs, olive oil, avacado, fish, nuts, coconut oil, heavy whipping cream

Ok about those shrimps!

You will need:
-1/2 lb of raw shrimp ( this is plenty for 2 people)--take the tails off those things, peeling the tails off while trying to get food in your face as fast as possible when you're starving is very annoying.
- couple tbs of coconut oil for frying
- about a cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 egg-beaten
- pinch of celtic sea salt

1. melt coconut oil in frying pan
2. put coconut on plate- add small pinch of sea salt
3. dip shrimp in beaten egg
4. coat in coconut
5. toss in frying pan
~ thats it!  cook until brown on both sides and until the shrimp has turned white all the way through.
~ You can drizzle on some honey, eat on a salad, maybe add some salsa, or serve with your fav veggies.
~ I had my shrimp with my two favorite veggies, asparagus and mushrooms.  I just tossed t hem in a baking dish, sprayed with some coconut oil and added a pinch of sea salt and roasted them for about ten minutes.

** note this was only half the shrimp.
Enjoy!

Serious Breakfast of Champions

I know what you're thinking, what the hell is that?? Baby food on eggs?  This is what I ate for breakfast and it was delicious!  So in my blog the other day I posted how I hate working out in the AM blah blah, today I didn't have a choice.  Coach Jay looked as if he saw a ghost when I strolled in at 9am, I can't remember the last time I worked out before 10.  Anyway who cares when I work out, what i'm getting at is I needed a serious post work out meal and breakfast because I can't eat before I workout, especially when its a mile run sandwiched between 2 five minute amraps that involved kettlebell swings and Ghd sit-ups (modified for me).  I had two eggs cooked in a tiny bit of coconut oil, don't want fat post work out according to coach colin. On top is left over sweet potato & spicy sausage soup from the other day.  It is more like a puree so it has a good consistency to put ontop of eggs, chicken, meat, whatever you want. I admit, it looks like baby food on a plate, but get passed that, it was delish, and it is now 1 and i'm still not hunry. Of course, to top it off, venti iced coffee from starbs. So no recipe for today, just a little breakfast/post wod idea for you morning people.
Here is the recipe for the soup in case you didn't catch it. sweet potato+Spicy Sausage soup

And again, thanks for all the positive feedback from everyone, I wish everyone wasn't having such a difficult time commenting on my blog, i'd love to see/hear from people who have tried the recipes.  I need a computer nerd to give me a little info on what to tell my followers on how to post comments, let me know!

OKTHANKSBYE
~Nicki cleaneats Peet(s)

Almond Joy's

Sick of plain old dark chocolate to satisfy your sweeth tooth? Here's a healthier twist on the oh, so delicious Almond Joy.  One day I had brought a batch of my protein bars to the gym for the boss and his wife, and Joce said " these taste like candy bars!"  So I decided to make my protein bars, into Almond Joy Bars!  I did a little nip & Tuck to the recipe.  Like the protein bars, these need to be kept refrigerated or else they will melt. 

What you will need:
1 cup of coconut oil -pack into measuring cup then melt
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 c of coconut flour
1 "heaping" tablespoon of almond butter
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 handful almonds
1. melt coconut oil and then add rest of ingredients EXCEPT the almonds and the chocolate chips.
2. Line a small baking dish with saran wrap ( thanks for the pointer Deb Bocuzzi- not just another pretty face)-- you want a small baking dish so make sure you cover the bottom of the dish with the mixture.
3. add mixture to baking dish-- press almonds into mixture-- I lined them up, like they are in real almond joys.

4. Now that i'm looking at this picture blown up I realize I didn't do a very good job of lining them up neatly, oh well.  Anywho, stick the pan into the freezer for about 10 minutes or until hardened all the way through.
5. Put 1 cup dark chocolate chips in the microwave at about 25 second increments, taking it out and stirring each time. Do that until melted
6. Take pan out of freezer, pour chocolate on top and spread it evenly, pop back in the freezer for another 5 minutes or so.

7.  Take whole thing out easily by pulling out saran wrap. peel off saran wrap and cut into bars! Store in refrigerator and Enjoy!

Sweet Potato and Spicy Sausage Soup

The sweet potato debate runs rampant in the paleo world.  Some say yes some say no blah blah blah.  Robb Wolf, the author of the Paleo Solution, says they are a paleo food, so i'll take his word for it.  They are a starchy root vegetable, and are non-toxic, unlike a regular potato.  Sweet potatos have a ton of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and some people claim it is in fact the world's healthiest food.  That might be pushing it but, they are also a good source of glucose, which is why many people chose to eat sweet potatoes as a post workout meal.  The reality is, there is debate over many foods that we eat, some people say no to fruit, some only eat chicken and turkey, some say nuts are bad.  I'm certainly not a nutritionist, I base what I eat on research that i've done, or based on what Coach Jay and Coach Colin tell me ( because I know they've done they're research).  Like any other food, you don't want to eat sweet potatoes in bulk, i'd eat them post workout, or as a side dish, or in the case of this soup one bowl of it.

My favorite time of the day to work out is noon.  I'm not a morning person, and I don't like to work out too late.  I don't always get to workout at this time, but I do when I can.  So usually my post workout meal is also my lunch, and my favorite lunch is soup!  So here is a recipe I found on http://paleodietlifestyle.com/  . Sweet potato and Sausage Soup, I just finished making it and it was delicious! My House also smells amazing right now.  Here is the link for the actual recipe, of course I changed it up a tiny bit. I'll post what I used below...SweetPotato&SausageSoup

Here's what you need

- 1 3/4 lbs of sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into chunks.( I used that big guy and half the smaller guy)
- 2 big or 3 small carrots chopped
- 1/2 pound of pork sausage-casings removed ( I used Pork Chorizo from whole foods)
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic chopped
-1 1/2 tsp of curry powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 7 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 tbs of coconut oil to sautee veggies

- Check your ingredients just in case, some butchers/deli's/stores can be sneaky with their ingredients-- This one seems pretty good..now we can continue..

1.) Melt tbs of coconut oil in pan and add potatoes, sausage, garlic, onion, carrots, curry, and cinammon-- sautee for about 5 minutes and thoroughly mix.

2.) at the same time bring the chicken stock to a boil
3.)after cooking for about 5 minutes add everything to boiling chicken stock.

4.) Let everything boil covered for about 10 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are soft.
5.) Add everything to blender ( this makes alot of soup, I needed to run 3 batches through the blender)

6.) Blend eveything up well and its good to go!

I ran into a little issue while making this, I wanted to leave the sausage chunky to add to the soup, but I also wanted to cook the sausage with the veggies in the broth to keep all the flavor in the soup.  So after I realized picking tiny chunks of sausage out of the broth was going to take a billion years, I ended up just blending it all together like the recipe called for.  Next time I'm going to satuee the sausage first, then take out the sausage and put it separate and leave the grease in the pan and sautee the veggies in that and the coconut oil.  Then you can add the sausage at the end to have a chunkier soup, which I like.  ** Just an option, when you make it do it whichever way you want!

PALEO BBQ Pulled Pork and "Biscuits"..whattt?

I put that picture in nice and big first, so you could see it with your own eyes.  Paleo BBQ pulled pork and Biscuits.  For those of you following my blog regularly you saw my post for BBQ sauce yesterday that I got from sonofgrok.com, another primal eating blog.  Well today I threw that Pork Butt in the crock pot at 7am, then went about my day. I am not usually adventurous when it comes to cooking meats.  I've noticed (since my lecture on food poisoning) I tend to overcook meat way too much, so I tend to stick to chicken and sometimes steak.  In the crock pot it really takes alot to "overcook" the meat, since the whole point is to cook it until it breaks apart.  It makes me more comfortable knowing that meat is cooking at a hot enough temperature to kill bacteria, all day.  Anyway, I won't start talking about bacteria before I explain this yummy meal.

So to start, I took one large onion and cut it up into large chunks.  I put half of the chunks in the bottom of the crock pot, put my pork ontop, then topped the pork with the rest of the onion. ( I kept the onion chunks big so I could later take the chunks out, me no likey chunks of onions)  Then I added water to the pot until it was about 2/3 of the way full, add a few dashes of salt if you'd like.  Cover it up set it to low, and you are done for the next 7-8 hours. 

at about 7 hours I took out the pork and Pulled that poor guy to shreds.  This is a little time consuming but it gives you the chance to get rid of all the fat you don't want.  If the fork doen't go easily through some pieces of meat they are probably really fatty and I would toss them, unless you prefer it fatty.

Look at all that protein.  At this point add all the meat back into the crock pot, with all the juices.  I also added a bag of baby carrots at this point too.  I could have put them in from the beginning but it was a last minute addition.

Let cook for another hour or two.  I cooked this for just under 10 hours all together.  Note, you can cook it in the BBQ sauce, or add the BBQ sauce after like I did.  It smelled so good even without the sauce that I left half in the broth with carrots and half I added to the BBQ sauce from yesterday.  If you forgot, here is the recipe from yesterday BBQ Sauce .

Have it plain or BBQ, I couldn't decide so I went for both!

Now what about those biscuits??

Paleo Biscuits (makes 5 small biscuits)
1/4 c coconut flour
1/4 c flax seed meal
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch celtic sea salt
1 egg
1/4 cup vanilla unsweetend almond milk
1 tbs almond butter
**for a little sweetness you can add a tsp or 2 of honey--Or drizzle it ontop when they are warm.
Mix all ingredients together, form small biscuits, and put on coconut oil sprayed cookie sheet.  Bake @ 350 for 15 minutes.
*** note, these don't look that great, but they are yummy and have that flaky biscuit-y texture that goes great with BBQ sauce.  Again, will be really good with some honey drizzled ontop, or a little butter.  The BBQ sauce was sweet enough for me though to dip the biscuits in.

Pulled Pork Sandwhich!  I also wanted to show off my manicure I treated myself to yesterday : )